HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — If Dwight Howard is really trying to put his checkered recent past behind him, he has a strange way of making it happen.

The Houston Rockets’ All-Star center has jilted fan bases in Orlando and Los Angeles (Lakers) in each of the past two seasons, bolting for what he believed to be a better situation in each instance. But he still wants to feel the love in both places. After staying silent for weeks while he was orchestrating exists from both places, Howard is finally opening up about how things went down.

The break-up in Orlando was about him not trusting the folks in charge to have his back after he and Stan Van Gundy‘s routine head-butting on certain things went public during that infamous post-shootaround scene where Van Gundy told reporters that he knew Howard had asked that the Magic fire him.

When the Magic fired Van Gundy in May 2012, Howard’s mind was already made up. He was gone. The trade to the Lakers ended in disaster as well, with Howard being unable to co-exist with Kobe Bryant and his misgivings after the franchise hired Mike D’Antoni to replace Mike Brown instead of Howard’s preferred choice, Phil Jackson.

“There were some things that I missed about Orlando,” Howard said. “There’s a lot of situations that nobody really knows that I kept on the inside, but there’s some things about Orlando that I missed. I’d say that getting out in the community and doing a lot of stuff that I did, I miss doing that stuff in Orlando and the relationships that I built with a lot of people over there in Orlando. I miss that.

“But I have no regrets. I’m happy everything happened the way it happened. Even though I got hurt in the process and I had to go through a tough time, it made me a better person. I’m more mature now. I know how to handle situations different than I did back then.”

Howard views the Rockets as a championship contender.

He thinks Houston has similar talent to the 2008-09 Magic squad he led to the NBA Finals.

On Tuesday, Howard compared Rockets small forward Chandler Parsons to Hedo Turkoglu and Rockets shooting guard James Harden to Courtney Lee but also added that Harden has more scoring ability. He compared Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley to Rafer Alston and Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin to Anthony Johnson.

Howard said he was disappointed that, last February, after the Magic acquired Tobias Harris in a trade, the team granted Harris’ request to wear No. 12, Howard’s old number.

“I just think that despite whatever happened, there was a lot of things that I did and that we did as a team, and that number was special down there,” Howard said. “And I was a little bit upset about that.”

What Howard may not realize is that Harris is wearing No. 12 to pay tribute to a close friend who had died of leukemia at 17 years old.

Simply put, Howard can’t have it both ways. He can’t depart the way he did and expect anyone in Orlando to hold him in the same regard they did before the bottom fell out.

The Magic might change their tune some day, years from now when the sting of the divorce wears off a bit more. And Harris will rock that No. 12 jersey well. He was one of the biggest and most promising surprises for a Magic team that struggled mightily last season in their post-Howard existence.

Clearly, this drama is not going away, no matter how many times everyone involved tries to make it so. Howard will have to relive and rehash these things every time he sets foot in Orlando and Los Angeles. And maybe that’s the ultimate burden he’ll have to bear, the eternal venom from fan bases scorned (Magic fans will at least admit they were torn to shreds when he left).

95 Comments

Dwight Howard acting like he retired from the NBA so now they gotta retire his Number ? That like saying Lets Retire 23 on the Cavs cause Lebron Help us alot or saying lets Retire 15 on the Nuggets for Melo

hahahaha, dwight dwight dwight, seriously. after the storm of S you made in orlando, after the crazy drama crying transfer during months, after 0 title, 1 weak finals. so much disrespect for the magics.
you are joking with the number right.

There are two points that I want to mention. First are people forgetting the talented shooters they had on that team when the magic went to the Finals. Yes Dwight was the main star but still. Second he should be concentrated in getting his jersey retired in Houston since now he has to live up to the expectations of another legendary big man Hakeem.

I didn’t follow Dwight’s leave from Orlando that closely but seems that an intense and challenging personality was a big factor as it was at LA. I can’t see that happening in Houston so he has no excuses

All true star players show sportsmanship to their fans, not cry baby stuffs ok! until Dwight can win a champion trophy, we will continue to critize him with his acts on the court. We respect true ball players out there.

You don’t get to complain about someone else wearing your number when you choose to wear another team’s name…IN YOUR PRIME. It’s different for guys like MJ, Truth, Nash etc. But if you ask me –> LBJ, KG, Shaq, Amare and others that left in their prime shouldn’t be commemorated like that. SORRY

If you guys no care about Dwight then stop saying his is immature.
You can go praise your own favourite NBA star and makes you look like mature.
We true NBA fans appreciate Dwight’s humorous and his contribution to any team he stay before.
We enjoy basketball game.
At least he is still one of the best center in the league and he’s playing in NBA while you saying he is a whiner, he can’t success or cry baby, How about you? 🙂

I don’t know what D Howard want.He is such a cry baby.Hey Howard knows this,Orlando fans doen’t care what you thinks anymore,So keep your mouth shot.If you can say sothing positive and with sense, just be quiet.

those comparisons are shocking…i bet hes hearing it from them LOL courtney lee and james harden in the same sentence ?! hedo turkoglu had a couple of good 3 point shooting years. and comparing jeremy lin to a third string point guard?! Hourton Rocket chemistry…..crumbling as we speak

Howard is a loyal guy. The Magics should respect Howard for effing up the Magics and management. So loyal that he eff up his time with the Lakers. He’s a loyal guy. He’ will get 40,000 middle fingers when he returns to play at the Staple Center for his loyalty.

ok im a huge clipper fan felt like crying bout corey maggette being waved yesterday (spurs) but come on if any1 can live off past glory’s it should be lake show. so i’ll just say this go lakers unless there playing the clippers ;). and on Dwight topic I love the guy and we should look at full quotes but ya Dwight that’s just silly they aint retiring nothing there try to hang that jersey up for rockets and you will have something just for yourself that no one else can wear. and I agree with the get rich or die trying quote the only difference is Dwight want to be loved and he just doesn’t understand how attached fans are to there teams they can have tremendous attachment to individual players but some level of team success needs to come first and only if that player shows commintment to said team it just all went down wrong for Dwight so as amazing as those numbers are with magic it’s overshadowed by the media fest and you need to let your best years go.

To me, Tobias Harris choosing to wear the 12 speaks to his desire to move the Magic forward. He doesn’t need a knock for it. He’s taken on a challenge. He’s challenging his teammates and his front office to get over the whole Dwightmare and start thinking about basketball again. It’s not disrespect. It’s called leadership, Dwight. Look it up.

Oh dear…and I thought Howard was finally growing up…
I honestly think – or should I say thought? – that the Rockets are going to be a great team this year, if not a championship contender. But this jersey-number-talk after one forgettable year plus the player comparisons sound childish… although I don’t have the whole quote…that’s just the kind of things that I think Howard has to abandon once and for all. I do not even blame him for the messed up Lakers season, but he still has to show that he is a mature player. Most times, that is important for one’s game. Just look at LeBron…

So…he basically wants them to retire his number? Don’t you have to do something memorable and produce Hall of Fame worthy performances over a long period of time, not 8 seasons, letting the door hit him on the way out?

I bet he asks the NBA to retire his number across the league. One of the most overrated players in history.

Tmac and Trevor Ariza both took Penny’s old number. Even GILBERT ARENAS, even thou he said it was a tribute cause he was a huge penny fan growing up. Dwight maybe played longer, but penny with Shaquille MADE the magic what they will never be again. They were probably the next biggest team world wide behind only the bulls in the mid 90’s. Here in Sweden, if you could buy a jersey in our soccer-overloaded-sports stores, then YEAH, you were awesome! Nobody ever heard penny cry about his number. To me, both Shaquille and penny should have their numbers in the rafters. It’s not about the banners, that kind of impact they had…oh my god. And nick Anderson should also have his, since he was the original magic. At the same time, I just hope the hornets will honor LJ and muggsy one day. Those two made nba global just like mike, Larry and magic did.

OMG you guys are mean and hateful just because he left two teams for the good of his career, everyone just going to spit on him. their is no loyalty in this thing on either sides unless your the spurs. Have none of you seen get rich or die trying (show no love, love will get you killed).

Dwight COWARD !!! too much talking no skill and action. Rockets is a contender? over rated !!! try to beat clippers, spurs, warrior, and etc. i hope that Rockets will loose to Lakers this season, really want to see Dwight’s face, can he smiles? lol

What he did in Orlando was great, he has a right to feel anyway that he wants. I just wish he would stop falling for the bait. Stay away from the reporters, there are vultures and are only looking for headlines and reader responses. Rasheed Wallace had it down, “both teams played hard”, “gave 110%”. They are only going to take yours words and use it as a way tos spit venom at you, so why give them the poision in the first place?

What a hypocrite! A once talented basketball player became too smitten with himself and his lack of respect for organization has diminished his reputation and his skills on the court. He should just keep his mouth closed and play basketball.

To give you perspective, let’s replace the jersey with a bike. Dwight left Orlando and left his bike behind. Now he’s upset because some other kid is riding his bike that he didn’t want anymore. That is very immature!

To have your number retired is an honor an organization bestows upon you. It is not a right. Players numbers are not retired before the player retires? And basically, Howard wants that? That is immature.
Also Howard said that he didn’t trust the very people who might bestow that honor upon him.

But it is more than an honor, it is for fans to remember history. But no one in Orlando wants to remember that history right now. And Howard can’t empathize with those feelings, he wants people to recognize him.

Why would you still try to insult and hurt Orlando fans, and the fans all over NBA ?
That guy must be missing some screws.
What a joke. Some time ago when Shaq said Bynum was a better offensive force, and everyone cried about it. HE WAS RIGHT. At that time Bynum was way better and skilled offensively. Howard is far away from the Hall of Fame guys already there. All the great players, were mature beyond their years, They got stuff figured out about the game and themselfs, something what other players cant. They got the capacity to learn and they know how to learn. He is dumb and will not get better, he is not capable of developing his game further, and lacks common sense in all terms compared to other superstars. He just got other stupid stuff like this on his mind. Trash talk, cry, feel important. He will not get better unless he hits his head hard.

Mature? Being upset when others wear your number is not a sign of maturity at all. There is no personal patent on your number and any team can allow if a player would request to wear it. Unless, that number is already retired by the team

Sounds to me that maturity is still not one of Howard’s strong points. Jersey numbers are owned by the organizations and players can request the number they wear, I think this was mentioned above. Comparing Harden to Lee is a slap in the face to Harden who truly became an all-star after leaving OKC. What Howard needs to do is stop talking and play basketball, the Rockets are contenders (4-5 seed) may be higher if they get along.

None of Dwight’s comparisons make sense, Chandler Parsons is much different than Turkoglu. James Harden is an all-star, Courtney Lee is not. James Harden is possibly a better player all around than Dwight is at this point. Rafaer Alston is a much better ball handler, but Patrick Beverley is a great role player just as Alston was. And the Lin vs Anthony Johnson comparison= Ludicrous.

“(Magic fans will at least admit they were torn to shreds when he left).”

What, are Lakers fans supposed to admit to being “torn to shreds”? He was only there for one year, come on. Not 8 years for the Magic fans. And his contract was up in 1 year. You expected every Laker fan to emotionally invest themselves in this joker? At best the people that were already fans of the guy who also happened to be Lakers fans were disappointed. .

But don’t imply that just because we brought him in on a chance for the future that everyone would suddenly be completely and utterly devastated when he left. After a season like that, many expected it.

Dwight Howard is showing his immature cry baby antics have not stopped. His self-centered thinking is more suited for a golf or tennis player. This type of mentality will never result in a championship for him as he continues to ruin team chemistry from one franchise to the next.

@William Simmon: Spot on. Dwight was only good for the team when he was establishing himself in the league. Since some people said he was the best center, he became trouble for any organisation. Even for LaLa.

exactly. He did say that about his previous Orlando team..
Also curious how Harden will like being compared to Courtney Lee or Jeremy Lin to Anthony Johnson. SMFH making friends quick huh Dwight? Someone posted above – “He is like this annoying little kid trapped in a grown mans body” couldn’t change a word there if I wanted to.

What an idiot. Orlando can do whatever they want with the #12 organization. As far as I’m concerned if Howard doesn’t wanna wear that jersey he can stay quiet about who does. He is like this annoying little kid trapped in a grown man’s body. You “got hurt” when you left orlando? My god, you signed with another team Howard. Stop acting like anyone cares about your emotional journey. Shaq would have never…

You cant compare Dwight to Shaq in that sense…They both played in different times and have different personalities. Dwight is more free spirited and he expresses how he feels. I want Dwight to have much success wherever he dicides to play because he has to live with his actions at the end of the day. Dont critize someone unless you are in there shoes. Also, Dwight does have a right to say that his number should be retired because he has brought alot to he Orlando Magic Organizaion. Shaq isnt Dwight and Dwqight isnt Shaq. I am tired of hereing these compasrisons between the two. They both are the best centers of their time but what Shaq did, Dwight shouldnt have to do the same thing. So let Dwight do Dwight because at the end of the day he is happy and thats what matters to him.

jameer nelson has no killer instinct at all, i’ve seen multiple games where the magic have lost and or gotten blownout in doing so and jameer nelson is all smiles like its nothing serious. you can’t win with a guy like that no matter how good they are